Between 1991 and 1993, Paul Bernardo, along with his wife Karla Homolka, raped and killed several women in Canada. However, the duo’s crime spree began almost a year after their engagement in 1989. The couple were intensely in love with each other. That’s why even after knowing her fiancé’s sadistic sexual behaviors, Homolka continued to assist him and knew everything about what he was doing. Eventually, the authorities and media started calling them ‘Ken and Barbie Killers.’
Bernardo started committing sexual misconduct years before he got an accomplice. According to Daily Mail, the culprit started his crime spree in 1987, and in just 13 months, he raped several young girls in Scarborough, Canada. The rapist would grab his victims from behind and sexually abuse them. He would rape them from behind so that victims couldn’t see his face. In the meantime, Bernardo met Karla Homolka and fell in love with her. After their engagement, Homolka got to know the real Bernardo, a man who raped multiple young women. Soon after, Homolka became his accomplice and assisted her fiancé in committing more crimes, including murders. The couple raped and killed two young women between 1991 and 1992.
However, in 1993, their crime spree ended when Homolka left Bernardo, and the test results of DNA samples taken by the authorities finally came out. In February 1993, the police apprehended Bernardo and charged him with nine different counts. Two years later, the court found Bernardo guilty and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Meanwhile, Karla Homolka took a plea deal and testified against her fiancé. As a result, she received a 12-year sentence.
After getting out of prison, Homolka moved to Montreal and reportedly lives there with her second husband and their kids. Meanwhile, the authorities recently moved Bernardo to La Macaza Institution, Quebec.
Why are Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka known as Ken and Barbie killers?
Karla Homolka knew everything about her fiancé’s dirty crimes and chose to not tell anyone about it. In December 1990, Homolka helped Bernardo in drugging her young sister so that Bernardo could have sex with her. As per the Daily Mail, she slipped sleeping pills in her sister’s drink, and Bernardo allegedly raped her. The same report also mentions that he ordered Homolka to sexually abuse her sister as well. Afterward, the duo called 911 and claimed that she passed out from drinking. Homolka’s sister choked on her own vomit and died. Meanwhile, in 1991 and 1992, the couple raped and killed two more young women.
Eventually, in 1993, the authorities arrested Paul Bernardo because of the DNA samples collected before his engagement to Homolka in 1989. On the other hand, Karla Homolka also told everything to the police and took a plea deal. As soon as the media got to know about their identities, they started calling them ‘Ken and Barbie Killers’ because of their good looks. At the time, a report in the Washington Times stated, “The alleged perpetrators were attractive, well-dressed professionals who lived in a high-rent neighborhood and had lots of friends. Yet the murders and other crimes they allegedly committed were particularly sadistic. The schoolgirl victims were abducted as they went about their daily routines, then were held prisoner while a variety of sexual tortures were performed on them. Some of those tortures were videotaped.”
The ‘Ken and Barbie Killers’ became quite a phenomenon in pop culture. In 2006, a feature film based on the case titled ‘Karla’ released in theatres. Laura Prepon played the role of Karla Homolka while Misha Collins of ‘Supernatural’ fame portrayed Paul Bernardo. Meanwhile, a documentary series, ‘Ken and Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes,’ is currently streaming on Prime Video.
